SHAMEFUL: MEDIA SACK CALL FOR CELTIC LEGEND

FORMER Celtic skipper Paul Lambert has been under a shameful attack from the local newspaper who made a front page plea for Ipswich Town to SACK the manager.

The East Anglian Daily Times have urged the English League One club to dismiss the much-travelled gaffer with the team toiling in a difficult campaign.

The newspaper took to their front page to have their say. CQN has edited their comments as they stated: “Paul Lambert has had time to make it work at Ipswich Town. In this newspaper’s view, that time has run out. Today, we call for Blues’ owner Marcus Evans to make a change.

“More than two years on since his appointment, the club is struggling to compete with the top six in the third tier of English football. The third tier.

“Ipswich are not playing well enough to make the play-offs, and show no signs of doing so. The team is in danger of losing touch with many of those in the top six.

“Here’s the evidence: The record against last season’s top 10 and this season’s top 10: P27 W4 D8 L15. 20 points from a possible 81.

“They have lost to the current top seven, scoring just two goals in the process. And Ipswich are comfortably in the bottom half of the form table since the start of November.”

It added: “This is a critical moment not only for this season, but for the football club.

“Failure to win promotion would be a disaster, with the salary cap set to bite further in 2021/22, and work against League One’s ‘bigger’ clubs such as Town.

“This is why we urge Marcus Evans to make the change now.

“The slow, sad decline of Ipswich Town needs to stop.

“Of course, there is no guarantee a different manager would make this talented squad tick, and save this season. But Plan A doesn’t seem to be working, and there is still a chance to turn this around.”

Lambert, who was pivotal in Martin O’Neill’s silverware clean sweep in the Irishman’s debut season in 2000/01 and was the captain who led the team to Seville in 2003, has been under fire this term from the local press.

The 51-year-old, who has also bossed Livingston, Norwich City, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers and Wolves among others, managed to get some respite at the weekend with a 2-0 home win over Blackpool at Portman Road.

Lambert, who had seen his side lose six of their previous seven home games, said: “Hopefully, this is the turning point.

“Listen, we’re only halfway and have so many games in hand. There’s miles to go. We’ve got players coming back from injuries and getting stronger.

“The new players have really added something. There are so many good things.”

CQN can only hope Paul Lambert has the last word.